Paper Or Paper

Somebody probably collects coasters. Even the paper ones at bars are probably something someone collects. I see that as being a less reasonable collection than mine of VHS tapes, but not everyone does, I'm sure. Maybe most people don't. Anyway, I have a few of them myself. They're really all I have for use as coasters, those paper bar mats. There are those and junk mail envelopes, which actually are very useful in the sense that they keep condensation off the table and have space for at least two glasses.

They all are decorated with beer brands. I link a lot of them promote Bud Lite. Bud Lite is pretty good, actually. They put out a lot of paper beer coasters, they make great commercials, and they're at the vanguard of beer can innovation. It's just that they make lousy beer. Maybe that's not fair. It's acceptable beer, provided you've had a shot at better beer before that. I certainly would not refuse a can of it.

Some of the beer mats promote a better class of beer. I think some of them are for Sam Adams, which isn't my absolute favorite, but which is at least a little bit better and which also has the virtue of costing more. That has the psychological effect of making me like the beer better. Maybe the thing I like least about Sam Adams is that they are so painfully earnest about beer. That may be something that comes with making beer that you're actually proud of, but what matters is that their commercials are not hilarious and their beer mats are not memorable.

Slowly but surely, the beer mats get damaged and are thrown out. I'm not sure if this happens at a faster rate than the rate at which I acquire new mats. Every once in a long while, I grab a few when they are there in abundance at a bar. I don't go to bars that often, so there are few opportunities. What I should really do is get some real coasters that will last and that are pretty. That will probably be the sign that I've grown up for real.